1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to construction sets, and more particularly to a toy construction set including components having interfitting formations connectible in a plurality of manners to releasably interconnect the components.
2. Prior Art
Toy construction sets are known which utilize a plurality of interconnectable structural components. The components typically are provided with male, female, or male and female coupling portions so that they can be connected by mating complementary coupling portions or by using separate coupling elements. Such construction sets are described in the referenced Undercut Slot Patent and the referenced End Connector Patent.
The construction set components described in the referenced patents have undercut male connector formations which are receivable in elongated undercut grooves. A characteristic of such construction set components is that they can only be connected and disconnected by relatively moving the components along paths paralleling the longitudinal directions of their undercut grooves. In one respect this characteristic is advantageous in that it inhibits ready disconnection of interconnected components by pulling them apart in directions transverse to the length of their grooves, i.e., they establish relatively strong tension connections. In another respect, however, this characteristic provides the significant drawback of limiting the manner in which components can be relatively moved to effect their interconnection. The components cannot, for example, be moved toward each other in directions transverse to the length of their grooves to press or "snap" the components together.
Construction set components have been proposed which have male and female formations that can be moved toward and away from each other to establish and release component interconnection. One such proposal utilizes component formations that deform slightly during insertion and retraction to provide snap-together connections. Another proposal utilizes component formations that are simply pressed together and pulled apart to establish and release interference fitting connections. Still another proposal utilizes snap-together components which, once they are interconnected, also interference fit to assist in establishing relatively rigid connections. A drawback of all these proposals is that their connector formations are disconnectible relatively easily by pulling the interconnected parts apart. They do not, in short, establish relatively strong tension connections.
Another drawback of previous connector proposals has been their lack of versatility. No known sets have permitted either a relatively low tensile strength or a relatively high tensile strength connection to be established depending on which of a plurality of interconnectible formations are interconnected. A further drawback has been their failure to permit a shifting between relatively low and high tensile strength interconnections without disconnecting a pair of already interconnected components. Still another drawback has been the failure of previously proposed connector embodiments to permit the establishment of a relatively high strength tensile connection by relatively moving a pair of interconnectible components first into a relatively low tensile strength connection attitude and subsequently into a relatively high tensile strength connection attitude whereby the high strength connection is actually established in two distinct steps or stages.